Acceptability of Carbohydrate Drink Supplementation During the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course 10-Day Field Training Exercise

Soldiers typically under eat relative to their caloric expenditure during field training. Carbohydrate supplements in liquid and solid form have been developed to provide a means of enhancing carbohydrate and total caloric intake when soldiers are likely to consume insufficient rations. This report summarizes the results of a taste test performed during a seven-day field training exercise. Marines were provided five packets of ERGO Drink (Soldier Systems Center-Natick, Soldier Biological Chemical Command, Natick, Massachusetts) per day during the training exercise. They completed a questionnaire at the end of the 7-day sampling period. The soldiers rated the ERGO Drink as very good and thought it was a very valuable product for use in the field, particularly when relying primarily on MRE for food. The packaging was also highly rated. The students chose to dissolve the powder either in their canteen or within the packet itself. On other occasions they consumed the drink as a powder. The canteen cup was generally not utilized for fluid delivery. These results document the usefulness and acceptability of carbohydrate beverage powder for field use. Novel means of packaging should be pursued to encourage consumption directly from the drink packet, thus avoiding contamination of the canteen with carbohydrate.